Books by Arthur Ransome

June 1, 2004

Frank Kurt Cylke, Director of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, highly recommends Arthur Ransome for your reading consideration. Ransome, born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England on January 18, 1884, is best known for writing the children's series Swallows and Amazons which tell of the holiday adventures of teenage children who sailed and explored the lakes and mountains of England. Ransome is also noted for his retelling of Russian folktales. According to Mr. Cylke, if one "Would only grab a chance they would not be sorry for a might have been". (Arthur Ransome rephrase)

To order any of these titles, contact the library by email, mail or phone. You may also request these titles online through our OPAC. Happy Reading!

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Swallows and Amazons.
RC 22220, BR 13904.
Two families of lively English children spend the summer camping out on Wild Cat Island. They explore their miniature world, hunt for a hidden treasure, and follow the mysterious doings of an uncle suspected of being a pirate. Swallows and Amazons, Book 1. Series Code SWA. For grades 4 through 7.

Swallowdale.
RC 30556, BR 8088.
Captain John, Mate Susan, Able Seaman Titty and Ship's Boy Roger spend a second summer camping on Wild Cat Island. Follows the adventures of the Walker children and their friends through a shipwreck, a camp on the mainland, a secret valley and cave, and a trek through the mountains. Swallows and Amazons, Book 2. For grades 4 through 7 and older readers.

Peter Duck.
RC 30557.
In the third book of the adventures of the Walker and Blackett children, Peter Duck carries them onto the high seas. In their search for hidden treasure, under the command of the infamous Captain Flint (Uncle Jim), they brave fog, sharks, a pirate, and ravenous crabs. Swallows and Amazons, Book 3. For grades 4 through 7 and older readers.

Winter Holiday.
RC 30558.
The Walker and Blackett children, spending the Christmas holiday by a lake near the mountains, are detained an extra month by quarantine for mumps. They go on an exciting, imaginary adventure to the North Pole. Swallows and Amazons, Book 4. For grades 4 through 7 and older readers.

Coot Club.
RC 31634.
Dorothea and Dick, Tom Dodgeon, Port and Starboard, and other friends form the Bird Protection Society or "Coot Club." When a group of rude holiday boaters disturbs one of the coot's nests, trouble begins. Calamitous boat collisions, frantic chases, and near drownings ensue. Swallows and Amazons, Book 5. For grades 4 through 7.

Pigeon Post.
RC 35331.
The Swallows, Amazons, and D's are spending their summer holidays prospecting for gold in the Lake District. In order to keep Mrs. Blackett informed of their doings they have brought along three carrier pigeons: Homer, Sophocles, and Sappho. Swallows and Amazons, Book 6. For grades 4 through 7 and older readers.

We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea.
RC 15054.
Four children find themselves up against a real challenge when the owner of the yacht on which they are visiting fails to return and the boat drifts out to sea. Swallows and Amazons, Book 7. For grades 4 through 7.

Secret Water.
RC 33143.
The Swallows and Bridget Walker are all set for a camping, sailing, and exploring holiday with their parents when Commander Walker is recalled from leave by the Admiralty. But their father decides to let the children proceed on their own and leaves them on an uncharted island with plenty of supplies and a blank map. Swallows and Amazons, Book 8. For grades 4 through 7 and older readers.

Missee Lee.
RC 32694.
The Swallows, the Amazons, and Uncle Jim are voyaging around the world on their schooner. When they are shipwrecked and cast ashore on the China coast, they fall into the hands of Miss Lee, a Chinese pirate's daughter. Swallows and Amazons, Book 9. For grades 4 through 7 and older readers. 

The Big Six.
RC 32695.
While sailing on the Norfolk Broads, the Coot Club members are accused of setting boats adrift. They are able to prove their innocence only after some clever detective work. Swallows and Amazons, Book 10. For grades 4 through 7 and older readers.

The Picts and the Martyrs or, Not Welcome at All.
RC 15071.
Prospects for a glorious holiday without parents disappear when Nancy's and Peggy's stern great aunt arrives, uninvited, to supervise them. To save their mother from the great aunt's disapproval, the girls send their houseguests, Dick and his sister Dorothea, off to hide in a cabin in the woods. Swallows and Amazons, Book 11. For grades 4 through 7 and older readers.

Great Northern?
RC 32696.
John, Susan, Titty, Roger, Nancy, Peggy, Dorothea, and Dick are on a seafaring holiday in the Hebrides. When Dick, the naturalist, discovers a pair of great northern divers nesting, the children save the birds from being shot by an unscrupulous egg collector. Swallows and Amazons, Book 12. For grades 4 through 7 and older readers.

Coots in the North and Other Stories.
RC 32697.
Ransome biographer Hugh Brogan, who wrote "The Life of Arthur Ransome," presents two unfinished English tales: "The River Comes First" and "Coots in the North," a final Swallows and Amazons book; and three short stories previously published only in periodicals. These works show "what a good writer for adults Ransome could have been had he chosen."

The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship.
RC 16474, BR 949.
When the Czar proclaims that he will marry his daughter to the man who brings him a flying ship, the Fool of the World sets out to try his luck and meets some unusual companions on the way. For Kindergarten through Grade 3. 

Old Peter's Russian Tales.
RC 30848.
Old Peter lives in a small hut deep in the forest with his grandchildren Vanya and Maroosia. At night, they sit snugly by the fire and listen to Old Peter's tales. These tales told in Russia many years ago are of Prince Ivan and his terrifying iron-toothed baby sister the witch; of Martha who never complained of cold even to Frost himself; and of Sadko the poor merchant and his river-bride. For grades 6 through 9 and older readers.

The War of the Birds and the Beasts and Other Russian Tales.
RC 32698.
After the 1916 publication of Old Peter's Russian Tales, Ransome's first indubitable literary success, he set to work on a second collection, which was never completed. Ransome biographer Hugh Brogan selected and edited eleven of these tales for inclusion in this volume. For grades 6 through 9 and older readers.